Pope Francis attends the four-day meeting on the global sexual abuse crisis, at the Vatican. Photo (from video): ReutersPope Francis ended his conference on the sexual abuse of children by clergy on Sunday by calling for an "all-out battle" against a crime that should be "erased from the face of the earth". But victims and their advocates expressed deep disappointment, saying Francis had merely repeated old promises and offered few new concrete proposals. Francis vowed the Roman Catholic Church would "spare no effort" to bring abusers to justice and would not cover up or underestimate abuse. In Ireland, which he visited in August, the sexual abuse scandal shattered the power of the Church had dominated society.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 24, 2019 21:22 UTC